On our recent whole home projects in the Greater Seattle area, a full remodel cost about $150,000 for a Renton condo, about $200,000 for a split-level house in Renton and about $220,000 for a house in Redmond. Your price depends on which rooms you remodel, what the walls hide, the age of the house and the finishes you choose, so every home is priced in writing for its own scope. This article shows what our own projects cost and what they included, explains why we do not price by the square foot, and covers what moves the number up or down.
Full home remodels we build start at $125,000+ for a condo and $200,000+ for a whole home refresh. See current full home remodel prices.
What our whole home remodels have cost
These are real projects from our portfolio. The prices are the approximate project prices shown on each project page. Every project is priced in writing, line by line, for its own home.
- Whole Condo Remodel in Renton, WA: remodeled as one job in 2024. Every room got the same luxury vinyl plank floor and fresh paint, both bathrooms were refitted with new vanities, glass, mirrors and fixtures, and the electrical and plumbing were updated. The kitchen kept its cabinets and granite. About $150,000.
- Split-Level Whole Home Remodel with a Marble Fireplace: a Renton split-level remodeled from the structure out, with walls opened on the main floor, a white kitchen with an island, two new bathrooms, a gray plank floor, paint, a cable stair railing and a marble slab fireplace wall. About seven months, November 2021 to June 2022. About $200,000.
- Whole House Remodel with Wood Beam Ceilings: a Redmond house remodeled room by room, with new wood floors through the main rooms and stairs, the oak galley kitchen replaced with white shaker cabinets, and two bathrooms rebuilt. The wood ceilings, beams, stone fireplace and staircase were kept. About $220,000.
Smaller multi-room jobs show how scope changes the number. A Condo Kitchen and Wood Floor Remodel in Seattle, WA, where a wall came out, the kitchen was rebuilt around a large island and the living room got a new wood floor, was about $90,000. A White Shaker Kitchen and Laundry Remodel in Burien, WA, two rooms rebuilt as one project in about 10 weeks, was about $50,000.
Why we do not quote a price per square foot
Many people search for the cost to remodel a 1,500 or 2,500 square foot house. A price per square foot sounds simple, but it hides what actually sets the cost. Two houses of the same size can need very different work: one needs paint, floors and new fixtures, the other needs a new kitchen, two bathrooms, new wiring and a wall moved. The kitchen and bathrooms carry plumbing, tile and cabinetry, so they cost far more per square foot than a bedroom. That is why our estimates price each room and each trade on its own line instead of multiplying the floor area by a number.
What drives the cost of a full home remodel
How many rooms, and which
Kitchens and bathrooms weigh more than bedrooms and living rooms. A house with two new bathrooms and a kitchen is a different job from paint and floors throughout, and the projects above show it: the Renton condo kept its kitchen cabinets, while the Redmond and Renton houses each got a new kitchen and two rebuilt bathrooms.
Custom walk-in closets and dressing rooms are priced on their own page.
What hides in the walls
Old wiring, galvanized pipes, rot under a tub or a sagging joist only show once the walls open. We look for the signs at the walkthrough and say plainly what could change.
The age of the house
Older homes around Seattle often need more circuits, new supply lines and better ventilation. We add them while the walls are open so the finished rooms never have to be cut again, and that work is part of the price.
Finish level and layout moves
Keeping plumbing where it is and walls where they stand saves real money. Moving a kitchen, removing a bearing wall or choosing custom cabinets and stone adds to it. On the Renton split-level, opening the main floor walls needed temporary shoring, which is structural work a paint and floors job never has.
How long a full home remodel takes
Time follows scope. On our project pages, the full Renton house took about seven months, from November 2021 to June 2022, and the Burien kitchen and laundry took about 10 weeks from the April 11 start to the June 22 completion. Design and permits come before any of that time on site, and more rooms, structural changes and long lead finishes add to it. How long does a remodel take in Seattle? covers each phase.
Permits on a whole home remodel
A whole home remodel almost always needs permits, because it moves walls, wiring and plumbing. The 2021 Seattle Residential Code, Section R105.1, says "a building permit shall be obtained from the building official for each building or structure prior to erecting, constructing, enlarging, altering, repairing, moving, improving, removing, changing the occupancy of, or demolishing such building or structure, or allowing the same to be done." In Seattle, building and electrical permits come from the Seattle Department of Construction and Inspections, and plumbing and gas permits from Public Health, Seattle and King County. In Bellevue they come from Development Services.
How to keep a whole home budget under control
- Decide the full scope before demolition. Changes after the walls close cost the most.
- Choose finishes for every room up front. Orders then arrive in sequence and the crews do not wait.
- Keep a contingency line. What the walls reveal is normal in older homes.
- Do it once. Remodeling the whole house at once usually costs less per room than three separate projects, because demolition, permits and the trades are mobilized once, and new floors run under new cabinets instead of stopping at old ones.
If the total is more than you want to spend at once, we can split the work into phases on one plan, so the first phase never has to be torn out for the second.
How to get a written price for your home
- Walkthrough and priorities: we walk every room with you, note what stays and what goes, check the panel, plumbing and structure, and agree on which rooms come first.
- One plan, one written price: our designer draws the whole house in 3D, we price each room on its own lines, set the build order and file the permits.
- Build room by room, hand over once: one project manager runs the crews in sequence, books the inspections and walks the finished house with you at the end.
See Whole Home Remodeling Across the Greater Seattle Area for what a whole home remodel covers, browse the Whole Home Remodeling Portfolio Across the Greater Seattle Area, and read the Remodeling Pricing Guide for the Greater Seattle Area for more on pricing. Remodeling in Renton? See Home Remodeling Contractors in Renton, WA. When you are ready for a price on your own home, Book a Consultation.
